REACT - Valley Clean Energy

Innovative REACT Program Will Save Farmers Money

VCE is excited to offer a new pilot program called Rural Electrification and Charging Technology (REACT) that helps businesses to transition to electric vehicles by giving incentives for electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment. The program also gives eligible participants the option to engage in bidirectional charging and dynamic electricity rates.

VCE is working with pilot partners Gridtractor and Monarch Tractor to offer incentives to farmers and other non-residential customers planning to install charging equipment.

Program Benefits:

- REACT provides incentives for charging infrastructure, hardware, and software to lower the costs of deploying electric tractors and vehicles for customers.
- As a REACT participant, you will receive software and support to reduce operating costs by using electricity when it’s cheapest.
- Participants switching to electric tractors can save 55-75% on fuel costs, as well as 5-10% on their electric bills if also participating in VCE’s dynamic rate options. Some equipment has bidirectional charging capability and can redirect electricity back to your business operations in the case of an outage.
- There may be other state and local incentives for vehicles that participants can combine with the REACT program to make the switch to electric even more accessible.

How It Works:

California’s most affordable and clean energy comes from solar power during daylight hours, while the most expensive and least clean energy is generated after sunset when demand on the grid rises. Energy costs during the night fall somewhere in between.

REACT pilot participants work with VCE and our partners to assess their electrification needs and develop a plan that includes incentives and electric rate options. Most electric rate schedules will qualify for the REACT pilot; however, to take advantage of bill savings and to optimize charging, we recommend enrolling in the Hourly Flex Pricing (HFP) rate. More information about HFP eligibility and application is here: https://valleycleanenergy.org/programs/hourly-flex-pricing-for-agriculture.

How To Get Started:

To assess your eligibility for incentives and find the best program for you, we’ll need some details about your electrical infrastructure and your tractor fleet (both electric and diesel). The first step is to provide your utility data and answer a few questions.

To provide us with your usage data, log into your PG&E account online and look for “Share Usage Data” on your dashboard. Select “Add New Authorization” and select Gridtractor from the list of vendors. Follow the instructions on screen, and after you have completed the authorization, you will be directed to fill out a short form through Gridtractor. After reviewing the information, we will reach out to discuss your available incentives and program options.

About REACT:

The REACT Pilot Program provides growers with incentives for EV charging infrastructure and the ability to save money on electric bills through dynamic rates. Gridtractor, a California-based developer of charge-management systems for electric vehicles (EVs), applied for the grant through the CEC’s Responsive, Easy Charging Products with Dynamic Signals (REDWDS) initiative. The program will receive $2.5 million for the first phase of a $27 million project.

The REACT team includes Gridtractor, an Agricultural charging services provider, Valley Clean Energy (VCE), a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) in Yolo County, and Monarch Tractor, an electric tractor manufacturer. Depending on your location(s), fleet and ability to respond to the signals, you may participate in one of several programs offered by VCE. The REACT team manages everything from enrollment to incentive applications and getting incentives paid, though some actions will need to go through PG&E, the local distribution entity.